Page 4, Portland Observer, January 2, 1985
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EDITORIAL/OPINION
We won't miss Ivancie
The departure o f Frank Ivancie as M ayo r o f
Portland is no great loss to the inner city or com
munities o f color.
As M ayo r he ignored the inner city and the
policies he penned treated people o f color and o f
low-income with contempt. During the Ivancie
regime the C ity ’s A ffirm a tiv e A ction enforce
ment was criminally lacking. As M ayor he could
have provided an example o f leadership by
opening employment at City Hall to all residents
and not just to those who illuminated and regur
gitated Ivancie’s ideology.
The form er M a y o r’s idea o f city-financed
development side-stepped the inner city. The
current Central City plan is budgeted for $350,-
000 to revitalize pockets o f d o w n to w n , the
M acadam C o rrid o r, Llo yd C enter, Buckman
and Hosford-Abernathy neighborhoods.
The inner Northeast, which has never had an
effective development plan implemented, was
left out o f any type o f development as Ivancie
rubberstamped this exclusion and Commission
er Margaret Strachan spearheaded it.
Ivancie’s handling o f the opossum-throwing
police incident, where police officers threw dead
opossums in front o f a Black-owned restaurant,
was arrogant and insulting. He swiped the police
Bureau away fro m form er Com m issioner
Charles Jordan and played the A fro-A m erican
com m u n ity fo r chumps. H e never saw fit to
apologize to the community who suffered under
the racism, manipulations and criminal activities
from the c ity ’s “ fin est.” Instead, Ivancie had
to eat his arrogance as he was swept away in a
tidal wave o f Police misconduct. His plow to kill
the Police Auditing Committee backfired as the
voters forced accountability out o f Ivancie.
A national movement ushered in the end o f
Ivancie as M ayor o f Portland. It was called “ re
claim ing p o litics.” The person that led this
movement was Jesse Jackson and the base he
used was the Rainbow Coalition.
In Portland the Rainbow Coalition registered
4,000 new voters who were casualties o f the
Ivancie adm in istratio n . Ivancie’s handling o f
the opossum incident, the city’s high unemploy
ment rate fo r people o f color, urban under
development and all the inequities suffered when
a deaf ear at C ity H a ll left a bitter taste in the
mouths o f these new voters who cast their bal
lots for an unknown — Bud Clark.
An unknown leader is better than a known
manager and Ivancie was more o f a manager
than a M ayo r. A question o f ethics has to be
raised as Ivancie takes the experience financed
by C ity taxpayers to start a privately-owned
consulting firm.
As M a y o r Ivancie kept Portland a decade
behind by adhering to the status quo, his leader
ship, or lack o f leadership ab ility, hurt the
C ity ’s m ajority as well as the m inority. Honest
historians will look back on the Ivancie era and
call it non-progressive, short-sighted and un
balanced. Needless to say, the C ity and nation
changed while the m anager-m ayor stayed the
same.
African and Black American connections
Along the C o lor Line by D r. M anning M arable
In recent weeks, thousands o f
Americans have participated in dem
onstrations denouncing South A f r i
ca’s o ffic ia l policy o f white racism.
The initiato r o f the nonviolent pro
tests was Randall Robinson, the ex
ecutive d irecto r o f T ra n s a fric a , a
Washington-based foreign policy lob
bying group. In a strategy session with
Congressman W alter Fauntroy and
U.S. Civil rights Commissioner M ary
F. Berry held several weeks after the
presidential election, Robinson pro
posed the revival o f M a rtin Luther
K in g ’s nonviolent direct action pro
tests to dram atize the recent repres
sion o f Blacks under the apartheid
regime. Robinson, Berry, and Faunt-
roy staged a small symbolic protest in
front o f the South A frican Embassy
on Thanksgiving eve, and they were
" p le a s a n tly su rp ris ed " when the
embassy officials panicked and tailed
the police.
Their arrests, like those of the four
Black students protesting Am erica’s
version o f apartheid in Greensboro,
N o rth C a ro lin a , nearly a quarter
century ago, sparked a series o f non
violent demonstrations. W ith in two
weeks, actions were staged at South
African consulates in at least a dozen
cities, including Salt lake C ity , Bos
ton, Chicago, and Houston. Leaders
arrested so far represent civil rights
organizations, religious groups, labor
and lib eral constituencies. In New
York City, those arrested for blocking
the consulate entrance included Judge
W illiam Booth; Rev. Herbert Daugh
try, chairperson o f the Black United
Front; Roman Catholic Bishop Emer
son J. M o o re ; H a zel D ukes, state
chairperson of the N A A C P ; and New
Y o rk C ity C lerk D avid D in kins. In
Washington, D .C ., Joslyn Williams,
president o f the Greater Washington,
D .C ., Central Labor Council, C o n
gressman Parren M itchell and social
activist Dick Gregory were arrested.
Although much o f white America
— and especially the Reagan A dm in
istration — was taken by surprise at
this sudden burst o f civil rights ac
tivism the question o f apartheid has
long been a central issue fo r Black
and progressive activists. O ne little
noticed feature o f the 1984 Democrat
ic presidential primaries was the in-
creasd focus on U .S . economic and
political links w ith the racist South
A fric a n regim e. Jesse Jackson re
peatedly attacked the Reagan Adm in
istration’s growing detente with Pre
toria — its decisions to support IM F
loans to South Africa, the U.S. train
ing o f the South A fric a n Coast
G uard, (he sending o f 2,500 electric
shock batons Io South African police,
and the establishment o f offices in
Johannesburg designed to prom ote
expanded U .S . investm ent in the
country. Jackson’s emphasis on
South Africa forced the Democratic
Party’s platform committee to call for
the immediate release o f African N a
tional Congress leader Nelson M a n
dela, and for the freeing " o f all other
political prisoners in South A fric a .”
This was the first time that any major
party had denounced apartheid un
conditionally.
Since the late 1970s Afro-American
groups have pressured U .S . en ter
tainers and athletes not to perform in
side South A frica. The boycott cam
paign was in itia te d by sm all Black
com m unity-based groups, but in
recent years has mushroomed. This
month in Los Angeles, a local group
“ U n ity in A c tio n " threatened to
picket the N A A C P ’ s 17th annual
Im age Aw ards ceremony fo r Black
p erfo rm ers, unless tw o p ro m inent
nominees w ho had toured South
A fric a , T in a Turner and Daniebelle
H a ll, were rejected. G iven that the
awards were designed to honor enter
tainers who have presented "positive
images o f Blacks," the N A A C P had
little choice but to drop Turner and
Hall
O n college campuses, students
have organized a divestment m ove
ment to pressure universities to with
draw funds fro m com panies doing
business in South Africa, iodate, over
40 universities have divested more
than $175 million in stocks linked tri
South Africa. Since 1979, Black lead
ers have secured divestment legisla
tion in Massachusetts, Philadelphia,
W ash ing to n, D .C ., C o n necticu t,
Michigan, M aryland, and dozens o f
smaller cities, am ounting to another
MOO m illion in public funds. T h o u
sands o f Black and while Americans
are planning nonviolent demonstra
tions and teach-ins fro m M arch 21
through April 6, 1985 to promote the
cause o f democracy in South Africa.
Reaganites are adm ittedly hostile
to the anti-apartheid movement, but
are increasingly on the defensive.
W hen the recent wave o f protests
>>.gan, ad m in istratio n officials an
nounced that they w ould have ab
solutely " n o im p a c t" on Reagan's
cordial policies to w ard apartheid.
"T h e real losers in this are the Black
c o m m u n ity ," blurted one W hite
House official, in a curious display of
inverted logic. But a group of 35 Con
gressional conservatives, led by Re
publican Congressman robert W a lk
er, have warned the adm inistration
that even they w ould "seek sanc
tions” against South A frica unless it
moved im m ediately to halt racial
violence and "demonstrated a sense
o f urgency about ending segregation
laws.” Under pressure from both the
left and the right, Reagan reluctantly
agreed to meet Anglican bishop Des
mond T u tu , recent w inner o f the
Nobel Peace Prize, to discuss apart
heid. The recent demonstrations indi
cate that the civil rights movement in
the U .S . has absolutely no intention
to capitulate to racism, whether from
Johannesburg or Reagan’ s W hite
House.
Dr. M anning M arab le leaches p o
litical sociology al Colgate University.
H a m ilto n , N e w York. “ A lo ng the
C o lo r L in e ” appears in ¡4 0 news
papers internationally.
Portland Observer
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ON SOUTH AFRICA
by Randall Robinson
This is a tale of two tragedies. The
first tragedy is the story o f the 20-year
unjust imprisonment o f the w o rld ’s
most gifted and principled Black
visionaries. The second tragedy is that
most Am ericans, Black Americans
included, have heard o f neither the
man nor his plight. The great man's
name is Nelson Mandela. His is not a
household name in America like A n
drei S akh aro v’ s. The reason is not
complicated. M andela is locked up
for opposing not Soviet repression,
but South A frican w hite-m in o rity
tyranny. Ronald Reagan has use for
Sakharov because he is white and op
poses A m erica's mokst form idable
communist foe. Reagan has no use
for M andela because he is Black and
opposes a new Am erican ally, the
Republic of South Africa.
A fte r the famous 1964 Rivonia
trial, Mandela and several other free
dom activists were sent to prison for
working to dismantle a South African
system that empowers four and a half
m illion whites to deny 22 m illion
Blacks the right to vote, to assemble
freely, to own land, to travel, to bear
arms, to obtain a trial and due proc
ess, to do anything save scarcely
breathe. Mandela is now 66 years old.
His children, babies at the time of his
incarceration, had reached (heir teens
before they were allowed to see their
father fo r the first tim e. His w ife,
W innie, has spent many years under
house arrest.
In the span o f Mandela’s imprison
ment, over three and a h a lf m illion
Black South Africans have been forc
ibly relocated to worthless patches of
land set aside by the white apartheid:
87 percent o f the land reserved for
four and a h a lf m illion whites, the
remaining 13 percent for 22 m illion
Blacks. T o d ate, some nine m illio n
Blacks, assigned to one Black reserva
tion or another, have been stripped of
South African citizenship. Last year,
M andela was told he could go free
if he would report to his assigned res
ervation. H e declined the o ffe r. He
remains behind bars. Adherence to
principle and a sustained claim to his
people's b irthrig h t rank above any
circumscribed personal liberty.
For Ronald Reagan’s part, he does
not want to debate Am erican policy
toward South A fric a in this election
season. L ittle w onter. D u rin g the
three and a half short years of reagan
affection, the South A frican regime
has invaded or destabilized every
neighboring independent A fric a n
country, continued its illegal occupa
tion o f N a m ib ia , stepped up dena
tion alization o f the Black m a jo rity
and increased the torture o f Black
dissidents.
T o help with the torture, the Rea
gan ad m in istratio n provided the
South A fric a n white w ith 2,500
crowd-control shock batons. T o help
with m ilita ry aggression against
neighboring Blacks and police re
pression against local Blacks, the
reagan
A d m in is tratio n
pushed
through a loan to South Africa from
the International Monetary Fund of
S l . l b illio n . This figure represents
almost exactly the amount by which
South A fric a increased its m ilitary
budget shortly before the loan was
granted.
T o rub our faces in this growing
Afrikaner-American alliance, Reagan
has vigorously opposed lelgislation
that would pro hib it further invest
ment, loans and m ilitary sales to the
w hite m in ority government. And
while kthe $14.6 billio n Am erican
corporate stake in South A fric a has
steadily expanded over the last 20
years, the rate o f growth has jumped
dramatically under Reagan.
Amdrei Sakharov’s travail is much
chronicled here. Lech Walesa was
Tim e m agazine’s man o f the year.
Ask any American who Nelson M an
dela is. A look o f blankness results.
He is the man who would be the first
Black president o f South Africa were
only his people allowed to vote.
In his first term , Ronald Reagan
has used our ignorance to ignore
the man and prop up his captors. A
second-term Reagan is certain to be
even more cruelly calloused. W here
to lay the blame? O n the white South
A fric a n m in o rity , Ronald Reagan,
the Western allies, corporate A m e r
ica and, lastly, a slumbering, unknow
ing, uncaring American citizenry.
Copyright© 1984 by Essence Com
m unications Inc. Reprinted by p e r
mission.
(P O S A F is a local m ulti-racial citi
zens action group that supports Black
m ajority rule in Southern A frica and
an end to U.S. support f o r apartheid.
For more information call 238-9427.)
Letters to the Editor
The Observer welcomes letters to
the editor. Letters should be typed
or neatly printed and signed with the
au th o r's nam e an d address (a d
dresses are n o t published). We re
serve the right to edit f o r length. M ad
to: P o rtla n d Observer, P. O. Box
3137, Portland. O R 97208
"Uncle Tom"
sour grapes
To the Editor,
In response to the letter by Danny
K. Boyd, it sounded like sour grapes
to us.
Anyone who knows Ronnie M artin
knows the time he has put in without
pay, on his days o ff, to better condi
tions fo r brothers inside o f Oregon
State Penitentiary.
T o call him an "U n d e T o m ” is lu
dicrous and an unforgivable insult.
As for the inmates, we are aware
that they have worked hard to put on
forums and benefits in this commun
ity. O ne thousand people enjoyed
the free music and food at the Youth
Festival last summer, and some o f the
inm ates had to go in to th eir own
pockets to m ake it possible. They
tried to put something positive back
into this community.
There has been no " U n c le T om -
m in g " to disguise conditions " I n
side.**
W e w onder i f D ann y K . |p y d
brought his com plaints to Rofcnie
M a rtin or the inm ates, before pub
licizing them ; not only b efo re the
Black C o m m u n ity , but the w hite
community A N D the prison officials
that he is so critical of.
W ho is more the “ Uncle T o m ," or
"S ello ut? " W e are glad M r. Boyd is
no low-lifed “ ju n k ie ." For this he de
serves a pat on the back, but if this is
the same Danny K. Boyd who stabbed
two (2) women in the Copper Penny
Restaurant and Lounge, perhaps he
should spend his time examining his
O W N C H A R A C T E R and crimes
against the Black Community, instead
o f publicly discrediting the character
o f his fellow inmates and that o f Ron
nie M a rtin . Ronnie has been one o f
(he most respected and appreciated
employees at O .S .P . by the brothers
incarcerated there.
KEN T FORD
M A X IN E P A R K E R
BOB W EST
H A T T IE L E F F A L L
M E L O D IE R O B ER TYS
LEROY T U R N E R
"Uncle Tom "
rebuttal
To the Editor,
In response to a letter to the editor
(N o Uncle Tom s) which appeared in
the P o rtla n d Observer's December
19th edition the members o f Uhuru
Sa Sa would like to offer this rebuttal.
Uhuru Sa Sa is a fraternity o f Black
inmates in Oregon Penitentiary, and
feel comments concerning M r. Ron
M artin were an inaccurate portrayal
o f his duties as M in o rity A ffa irs D i
rector. In his capacity Ron M a r tin
has served Black inmates and other
minorities well. It was alleged when
confronted w ith problems o f racial
mistreatment, he simply sits "b la n k -
fac ed ." this is not true. The fact is,
Ron M a rtin is the only m inority on
the executive level in this institution,
and usually finds him self standing
alone at the executive level when seek
ing resolutions to the many racial
inequities in this prison.
Ron has been instrum ental in e f
fecting changes in the prison’s matrix
system, a system which determines the
actual length o f time an inmate must
serve before parole, and one which
was holding Blacks in prison longer
than their white counterparts. Also,
he has helped this organization send
some o f its most responsible members
out w ithin the comm unity on speak
ing engagements, youth projects, and
other com m unity services w ithout
incident.
The truth is many o f Uhuru Sa Sa’s
achievements are directly tied to the
assistance from the Office o f M inority
A ffa ir s . In defense, we fin d M r .
M artin highly visible, accessible, re
sponsible, and most o f all a Black
man — not an Uncle Tom .
Membership o f Uhuru Sa Sa